Louisiana man charged after allegedly kidnapping woman and bringing her to Pettis County
SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man faces multiple charges after he allegedly kidnapped a woman from Louisiana and brought her to Missouri.
William Howe, 55, of Walker, Louisiana, is charged with second-degree kidnapping and being a fugitive from out of state. Howe is being held in the Pettis County Jail and will be detained pending trial, or until an order is made by the court. He will be extradited to Louisiana, where he is facing a kidnapping charge, according to the Sedalia Police Department.
An arraignment was held Wednesday and Howe appeared by video from the jail. A counsel status hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10 in Pettis County.
On Thursday, the Living Parish, Louisiana Police Department contacted Sedalia police about a kidnapping that led to a cellphone being pinged in Sedalia, according to a press release from Sedalia police.
Officers responded to a parking lot at a Motel 6 and found a truck with Louisiana license plates that was registered to the victim. Police learned Howe checked into the motel with an unnamed person, according to the probable cause statement.
Police knocked on a motel room door and Howe answered. Police told him the name of the person they were searching for and Howe allegedly said she was asleep, according to the probable cause statement. Officers eventually saw the woman mouth the words, “I want to go home.”
Police separated the two and interviewed the victim, who stated she was asleep at her residence and was awaken to Howe covering her moth and forcing her into his truck, the statement says. Howe allegedly made the victim strip their clothing.
Howe allegedly told police that the victim didn’t have clothes with her because “she knew he would buy her some,” according to the statement.
The victim eventually told police during an interview at the Sedalia Police Department that Howe made her cover up with a poncho, according to the statement. She then allegedly told police that in a town in Mississippi, Howe tied her with a leash while he went into a gas station.
The victim then allegedly told police that Howe stuck a sock into her mouth to keep her quiet in Memphis, Tennessee.
Howe was initially held on a $10,000 bond, which he posted Friday.
On Monday, Howe arrived to the Sedalia Police Department to retrieve property, according to the press release from Sedalia police. A no-bond full extradition warrant was issued from Livingston Parish, Louisiana, for kidnapping.
Howe ran away while police were attempting to execute the warrant, according to a second probable cause statement. Police caught him about a block away from the department.
